Chapter 12: Cost of Being a Hero

Akeno immediately showered Mittelt in currents of electricity as soon as she pushed the button of the detonator. Rias, meanwhile, opted to rush to the crumbling church, feeling concerned for her Knight and Rook.

She flew to the church as fast as she could despite her exhaustion from the fight, but she could only reach as soon as the entire building collapsed and the dust settled some. Akeno was quickly catching up behind her, having successfully knocked out Mittelt, so she trusted her to keep pace. Rias hovered over the field and watched the people below.

There were numbers of dead exorcists scattered about, but they were ones she didn't care about. Oddly enough, the most important ones stood out in the heap of rubble.

A small cube of rubble in the middle of the field suddenly collapsed and then burst out, revealing the badly injured pair of Koneko and Kiba within. Rias immediately grimaced upon seeing their wounds but noticed as they kept looking around for something. Following their surroundings, Rias noticed the second most important thing on that field.

Both Issei Hyoudou and Asia Argento were laying on the ground presumably dead, with a four-winged Raynare standing above them. Vowing to deal with the Fallen later, Rias plummeted down to meet Kiba and Koneko.

"B-Buchou…" Kiba bemoaned as he carried an unconscious and bloodied Koneko in his arms. "Y-You're here…"

"Don't worry, both of you," she said, smiling at them. "I'll heal you both. You both did a wonderful job."

Kiba smiled at the positive remark from his master but suddenly faltered. "B-Buchou… something protected us… something… invisible…"

"It's okay, no need to worry about that now," Rias reassured. She was concerned about what they were talking about, but it could certainly wait. What mattered then was their safety and that Kiba concentrated his energy on his recovery.

"AAAAHH-!" A loud screech immediately pierced through the air. Rias, alarmed by the sound, set Kiba down and took off once more, trying to find the source of the sound.

It was Raynare, whose extra pair of wings were being burned off despite the emerald glow of Twilight Healing in her palms. Rias watched her descent into defeat, only to keep herself to place the rings back onto Asia Argento's fingers. Rias watched the Fallen Angel sacrifice her own power to bring life back to a regular human.

"Buchou," Akeno quickly hovered beside her. "Are they okay?"

"… Y-Yes, Koneko and Kiba are… well… injured," Rias falteringly replied, being taken aback by what she'd witnessed. "They need attention."

Akeno nodded, then glanced at where Rias was looking. Her expression immediately soured. "It seems that Hyoudou-kun beat us here, then. Should I kill that Fallen while you bring them back?"

"No," Rias immediately found herself saying. "Leave that one alive. We will take her as a prisoner."

"… Very well. If that is your order, my King. Should I retrieve the other Fallen's body as well?"

"If you can. We'll need to salvage as many alive as we can and see what we can learn from them. Just… leave that one, Raynare, alone for now."

Akeno quirked her brow questioningly. "What did you see her do, Buchou?"

"Something I'd have never imagined from someone like her. For now, focus on retrieval, Akeno. I'll patch these two up."

Nodding, Akeno took off to keep an eye out for survivors. Rias descended once more to meet the rest of her Peerage. Stripping them of their upper clothes, Rias summoned a curing cream for wounds of their level. The wounds were deep, however. Rias knew that she'd have to share some of her energy to speed up the healing process, just as she'd done with Issei before.

"C-Can anyone help?!" Rias heard a distant, yet soft soprano call out from a distance away in another language. Ensuring that her two pieces' bleeding was slowing, Rias responded to the call by flying to the sound. She found herself moving to the trio she'd noticed earlier, for the one who called her was Asia Argento.

"A D-Devil?!" Asia immediately remarked, falling on guard once again.

Rias smiled as a mother does to their child. "There's no need to worry. Are you hurt?"

"N-No, I think Raynare healed me," she said, looking down at the glowing rings on her fingers. Rias watched a smile grace her features. "I think… I think she sees better now. I knew my Sacred Gear would help her."

"You are Asia Argento, yes?" Rias asked, softly landing before the girl, then noticing how Issei and Raynare were unconscious nearby. "Why did you call for help?"

"A-Ah, I wanted to get b-both of them somewhere safe!" Asia nervously replied, still shivering at the sight of Rias's wings.

Smiling, Rias withdrew her wings into herself. "Is that better?"

Gulping, Asia nodded. "S-Sorry, I'm just not very used to Devils, that's all. I-Issei told me about you. H-He worked w-with you, right?"

Rias frowned. "Not exactly. I did help him a few times, and in return, he's been a rather large thorn in my side."

Asia shared the frown as well. "T-That's hardly fair," she said, making Rias snort.

"No, it is not. He will be paying his dues soon, however. Speaking of, you wanted to get them somewhere safe? Are you including the Fallen Angel that kidnapped you in this as well?"

"Y-Yes! If you could please! Raynare is better now, after all!"

Rias held her gaze for a moment, making Asia immediately fluster and turn away. Shaking her head, she formed a teleport circle beneath them.

"I'll send you all to my clubroom for now. Make yourselves comfortable for a little bit. There are some injured that I need to treat.

"W-Wait, injured?!" Asia noted her say. "I-In that case, can I help?"

Rias froze her spell. "… Can you heal Devils?"

Asia looked away nervously for a moment but then nodded affirmatively.

"I see. Will you heal Devils?"

"I… I don't see why I shouldn't."

Rias blinked in surprise at Asia's outlook. That was not a statement easily heard when it came to relations between the Three Factions.

"In that case, your assistance will be welcome, Asia Argento."

Nodding, Asia allowed herself to be taken by Rias to her Peerage members. The girl immediately approached the two and shined the light of her Sacred Gear on their bodies. Rias watched in marvel as their wounds reknit themselves together as if they had never occurred in the first place.

"Thank you, really," Rias said, still marvelling at how powerful her Sacred Gear was compared to Devil Magic.

She moved to check on her Peerage members and confirmed that they were well, just resting. Turning back, she once again nodded at Asia.

"Say," she breached the question where Issei Hyoudou couldn't intervene. "Your Sacred Gear is truly powerful. Why don't you join my Peerage? We can train you further in how to control your Gear and your magic." Saying so, she presented a Bishop piece she'd reserved for the girl if she would join.

Asia blinked in shock at the offer. She opened her mouth, only to let out a few incoherent sounds. Immediately, her expression turned into a grimace as she turned away, gulping nervously.

"Do you not want to join?" Rias interpreted.

"A-Ah! N-No, it's n-n-not like t-that! I-I-I just… ahhh…"

Rias smiled softly, mainly to appease her rather than understand her thought process. "You can take your time, Asia. The offer is always open. Just so you know, however, I am asking you to turn into a Devil and essentially become my slave. I don't like treating my Peerage members like such, however. You can follow any path of life you'd like, as long as you are available when I call you."

Asia still looked away upon hearing that. "O-Okay…" she muttered, still nervously pressing her fingers together.

"Right, we should get going, then." With a clap of her hands, the magic circle beneath Issei and Raynare reignited, while another opened beneath Asia herself. "We will be there soon, don't worry. Make yourselves comfortable in the meantime."

In a flash of light, the three of them were gone.

Rias sighed and once again checked in on her Peerage members. She smiled thankfully at Asia being there for them. After all, she was growing concerned that the holy light in their wounds would kill them despite her efforts.

"Buchou, I've rounded up the survivors," Akeno appeared by her side once more. "Ara? The two of them are fine already?"

"It wasn't me who healed them, it was the girl."

"Asia Argento, yes? Did you get her into our Peerage?"

"Unfortunately not. Not yet, at least. It seems as though Issei Hyoudou really did succeed in his task."

"And the other Fallen with them? Where are they now?"

"They are in our meeting room. Asia vouched for her as well."


The Victorian-esque room of the ORC greeted Issei as he opened his eyes and the daze faded.

"Issei! You're awake!" Asia immediately called out, crouching down to face him. "Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need any more healing?"

Looking down, Issei stared in shock at the rings in Asia's hands. "You… You got your Gear back…?"

Asia eagerly nodded. "Raynare gave them back to me. Look there."

Issei as confused as Asia pointed to his right. Looking at it, he found that Raynare's face was staring right at him.

"Sup. Uhh… that's something humans say, right?"

"R-Raynare?! What are you doing here?!"

The Fallen chortled at Issei's shock. "It seems that the Devils took me in as a POW."

Asia blinked. "POW?"

"Prisoner of War. They're probably gonna lock me up somewhere and torture information out of me." Sighing, Raynare collapsed onto the opposing couch in the room. "Oh well. I don't really have much I can them other than stuff about the Grigori, which I sure as hell will never talk about."

"W-Wait, I don't think they're like that," Asia said. "I told them about you already. They didn't tell me anything about torturing you."

"Look at you, Asia. No one in their right mind will tell you they'll torture someone to death, not with how innocent you are. They didn't say it, but they sure as hell meant it."

"R-Raynare! Please, you can try trusting them!"

"Let them give me a reason to trust them, and then I will. Until then, they're all on the chopping block."

"Raynare… what are you doing here?"

The last line was spoken by Issei. He was in a daze at the sight of her the entire time. Raynare blinked in shock at his comment.

"What do you mean? I just said it, right? The Gremory Devil sent me here with you both."

"N-No… why… why aren't you trying to kill me anymore?"

Raynare's expression immediately soured. "… I… well… ah, how do I say something like this…"

"Did you want to forgive him, Raynare?" Asia asked, trying to help her share.

"W-Well, yeah, I guess so. I don't… know if I fully do, though. I still remember it. Those fires and Rulmare's screaming as he burned. T-Those memories will always be there, I think. But… But to think that the real Red Dragon was reduced to that much," she gestured at Issei. "It was kind of liberating. And I guess… to hear an apology from the Dragon himself, it was just not what I was expecting."

Issei stayed silent. He was fading in and out of consciousness while Ddraig spoke, but he could barely make out the words at that time. Whatever the dragon has said seemed to have an effect on the Fallen.

"So, frankly, I have no idea. I-I'm not forgiving him yet, definitely not. I guess… maybe I can eventually find it in me to forgive him. Just… Hyoudou, just make sure you use that power responsibly. Don't make me regret my decision. Especially with that Stand ability of yours."

Issei gulped. "Right. You can see them now, can't you?" He summoned a ball of Beetles over an open palm as he finished.

Raynare faltered for a moment. "Are they above that hand you're holding up?"

"Uhh… yeah?"

"… I cannot see them anymore, then."

Issei blinked in surprise. "What… but why?"

"I did have Asia's Sacred Gear on me at that time," Raynare suggested. "Could that be why? Asia, can you see it?"

"No, I never could. I actually want to see what they look like sometimes."

"Then that's not it. Why can't I see them anymore?"

"I have no idea," Issei said, returning Beetles to himself and relaxing his fist. "I hardly understand enough about Stands in the first place."

"I-Issei, didn't you say that you had a class full of Stand Users?"

Raynare jerked back in shock. "There are others?! Why weren't they with you?!"

"T-They don't know about any of this!" Issei retorted. "Please, Raynare, don't involve them. They don't know about the supernatural, the same way that I don't tell any supernatural being about Stands."

Raynare quirked a brow and pointed to herself.

"You're the exception, of course," Issei added. "But those guys… they've suffered way too much. Stand Users have some kind of problem with Fate. We call it Gravity; something that brings Stand Users together no matter what. If… If I do tell them about the supernatural, I'd be involving them in a world with even more danger than anything they've handled before."

Raynare frowned. "Well, with your showing today, I doubt they'd be in too much trouble."

"No, it's more of the experience of it. Stands are powerful and they would help in the supernatural world, but the people who wield them can get affected by those experiences."

Raynare stayed silent for a moment to ponder over his words. "Azazel-sama told me stories about the Faction War, you know? Whenever he'd talk about it, he'd always talk about how many good people died on their side. How many families were unmade, and how many people were dishonoured. He'd admitted that he didn't enjoy seeing more Fallen joining the Grigori at that period, even if it gave them an edge in the war.

"I think I understand what you're talking about. You don't want them to join the war, don't you?"

Issei curtly nodded. "They deserve to live good lives, especially after the things they've been through. They really shouldn't be in this war."

"… Fine. If I ever return to the Grigori, I won't tell anyone about it. Not… Not even Azazel-sama. If he ever heard of it, I know he'd want to get them involved immediately. So, I won't say a thing about Stands or about Beetles."

Issei smiled and nodded at her. "Thank you, Raynare. I couldn't ask for anything more."

Asia, upon looking at the two, couldn't help but smile. They were finally seeing eye to eye, after all.

"Asia," Raynare called out.

"Ah! Y-Yes, Raynare?"

"Thank you. Thank you for everything. And… and I'm sorry for stealing your Sacred Gear."

Asia paused for a moment upon hearing her confession, then smiled. "It's okay. As long as it helped you, then I'm fine with it."

Raynare eagerly nodded. "It certainly did."

With that agreement, the door to the office opened. A sweaty Rias walked in to meet them followed by the rest of her Peerage. Kiba and Koneko seemed to be alright, being fully healed from their injuries by Asia.

"I hope you all rested enough," she said. "Now, I'd like to hear an explanation as to what exactly happened."

And so, the three began their explanation. Issei started off by cooking up a story of him thinking about tracing back his steps with Asia and going back to the church where he dropped her off, only to find that it was turned into a Fallen compound. As such, he did whatever he could to invade the territory, making sure to leave out any mention of his Stand use and employing coincidence as a factor instead. For example, the time a squirrel landed on one of the traps to make him aware that they existed and how an exorcist nearly caught him but ended up running after something else. He then mentioned that Koneko and Kiba appeared at that point and broke through the wall, letting Issei come in after them. Using the Boosted Gear, he was able to smash through the pedestal over the stairs to the basement.

That was where Raynare took over for them. She mentioned that Issei saw her as she killed her supervisor, Dohnaseek. She explained how she was tricked by her teammates to work for Kokabiel, making Asia shed a small tear nearby. She then continued with the tale, sharing how Issei dodged all her spears even though she had four wings and used Asia's Sacred Gear. Finally, the bomb went off in the building and came down over the two of them, but some strange power held the rubble off them all. Finally, after they survived the endeavour, she was able to speak to Ddraig and was able to finally let go of some of her rage, returning Asia's Sacred Gear to her.

The four Devils remained quiet throughout the explanation. Upon hearing of the 'strange power' that kept the rubble off them, Kiba and Koneko's eyes lit up.

"Buchou, about that power they mentioned," Kiba began. "We saw it as well. Something kept us alive in there."

"Really? I was convinced that that was a poor coverup of some kind. Was there really some strange power there?"

"Yes, Buchou," he replied, then turned to the other three. "I suspected that was from one of you, however. Are you sure you had nothing to do with it?"

Issei hastily shook his head. He hated lying, but there are cases where it would be necessary, so his Aniki drilled it into his head as well. "No, we had nothing to do with it. Sorry."

Rias sighed. "Miss Argento, can I hear from you as well?"

"W-Well, mine isn't too different from theirs," she stuttered out, still unnerved around the Devil. "I just wanted to help Raynare. I was a-asleep for most of it."

"Well, so be it. In that case, what will we do about you, Raynare? Azazel already labelled you as a traitor, I believe."

Raynare's expression soured upon hearing that. "… There isn't much I wouldn't do for him. As such, I will return to the Grigori and face whatever punishment is laying there for me."

"Wait, you can't!" Asia interceded. "It's not your fault!"

"It doesn't matter," Raynare waved her off. "I still defied their orders. I deserve to be punished for it."

Issei stayed quiet nearby. Being the one who was attacked by her, he didn't have much he could say there. In fact, he didn't want to stop her from facing her punishment either. It was selfish of him to think so, but he'd been nothing but stupidly selfish throughout that entire endeavour, after all.

"Very well," Rias spoke up. "If it would help in any way, I'll ask my brother to put in a good word for you."

"Right, you're Lucifer's little sister, aren't you? That… That would be appreciated, thank you."

Rias nodded, then turned to Asia. "Miss Argento, have you considered my offer in any way?"

Asia gaped for a moment, then turned to Issei.

"What offer?" he asked, casting a suspicious glance at Rias.

"She… She asked me if I wanted to turn into a Devil."

Feeling alarm coursing through him, he turned to glare at Rias, who only looked away nervously. He looked back at Asia and made to stop her from doing so, but then paused. Was it right to simply control her like that? He'd already gotten familiar enough with the Gremory Peerage to know that they were treated rather well, save for the chance that they were coerced into their position like he nearly was.

"Rias Gremory… is someone who essentially forces people to join her Peerage," he revealed, making Asia pause nervously and Rias turn away in shame. "For me, she let Raynare nearly kill me the first time so that she could reincarnate me. It was only a last-minute change in heart that saved my life because I can't be turned into a Devil in the first place." The latter point caught Raynare's attention the most, but she didn't say anything about it just then.

"For you, Asia, she was intending to do the same thing. She wished to have you die and then join her Peerage so that you would have no other choice."

"Issei, can you stop, please!" Rias interrupted him. "You have no proof of such things!"

"Maybe I don't have proof, but this is as I saw it," he said, not willing to reveal how he heard their talk with Beetles. "Asia, I just want you to know everything about her before you make her decision."

"B-But… but should I join?" Asia asked in return.

"That isn't something I can say. That is your decision entirely. If anything, I am glad that Gremory-san had the heart to simply ask you if you would join her Peerage, but that was only after she attempted to have you killed. And despite her methods, she is honest about treating her Peerage members well. As such, it is entirely up to you if you wish to join her or not. You will live a happy life either way."

Rias blinked in shock. "Issei…"

"Can it. Think of this as one of my owes paid back. Remember that you still repeated the mistake you made with me, so I'm not forgetting that."

Asia paused for a moment. "Do… Do you like her, Issei?"

"Do I like her?" Issei echoed. "No, probably not. That being said, I don't hate her either. She may have done quite a bit to earn my ire, but she helped me just as much. As I said, it's entirely up to you if you want to join her."

Asia turned to Rias, who was still hanging her head low. She looked at the other Peerage members she had, seeing them watch them curiously. She could see the care they had for their Master.

"… Okay," she said. "In that case, I accept."

"Asia!" Raynare chided her. "You can't turn into a damn Devil!"

"Shut up Raynare," Issei spoke against her, frowning as he did it. "It's her choice. Maybe you hate Devils, but you really have no reason to."

"They're the group that we're warring against!"

"Doesn't this Azazel guy want peace? In that case, why are you promoting violence?"

Raynare bit her lip at the remark. It was no secret how much of a bleeding heart Azazel was. She tsked aggressively, seeing his point. "… Very well. But you can't expect me to buddy up with them just yet."

"That's okay," Issei smiled at her. "As long as you let Asia make her own choices from now on."

"Asia… I'm sorry. You can become a Devil if you wish to."

Asia smiled at Raynare in return, happy to hear that both of her saviours were happy with her decision.

"But I'm not sticking around for it," Raynare conceded, standing up and unfurling her two black wings. "I'm returning to the Grigori. Come hell or high water, I'll face what I'm due." She quickly zipped out of the open window nearby.

Issei let out a breath he didn't know he was holding upon seeing Raynare leave. "… In that case, I should head back as well. Tomorrow is a school day, after all, and I'm already pretty low on sleep. Asia, have fun in the Peerage."

"I-Issei!" Asia called out before he could leave. "Will you… will you still take me to those places you mentioned earlier?"

"Places? Oh, you mean like the amusement park? Of course, I will. Let's just wait for the weekend, and I'll take you wherever you want to go."

Asia beamed at the remark and enthusiastically nodded. Powered up by her smile, Issei grinned back at her, then turn to Rias.

"Gremory-san. Take care of her," he told her. "If you hurt her, I'll do anything in my power to destroy you. I swear that on my name as the Red Dragon Emperor."

Rias smiled at him. "Don't worry. You already know how I treat my Peerage. Also… thank you for letting her join."

"It wasn't my place to stop her, really. Just take care of her and we will be perfectly fine."

Watching her nod in assent, Issei finally left the ORC office.

'So… all that happened,' he thought to himself as he went to the building's exit. 'I pretty much threw away my safety for some girl that I barely met. Aniki would beat my ass if he heard that. I'm just glad I made it out alive.'

Finally leaving the building, Issei looked up at the few visible specks of light in the expanse above him, peering through clouds of pollution.

'Please don't make me do something like that again. I don't know if I'll be able to handle it.'


Issei sighed as he slammed his alarm clock. Taking a moment on his bed, he realised that his body was aching quite a bit. He also felt weary somehow.

Standing up, he finished up his morning procedure. He finished his run and returned, showered, and then he made it down to his kitchen to fix up his bento for the day. He remembered that he also had to make them for the ORC as part of his debt returns.

Just as he set his rice in his cooker, the doorbell rang.

Being knocked out of his early day droll by the sudden change in schedule, Issei warily approached his front door. Peering through the peephole, he saw a familiar blonde head of hair behind it.

"Asia?" Issei greeted upon opening his door. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I-Issei! Can you let me stay with you?"

Issei unpacked a lot more from that line than he'd intended to. First, he realised that everything that happened the previous night actually happened. He didn't dream it up. He actually stormed into an enemy base like some manga protagonist and saved the girl.

Second, he noticed that the double voice of his charm wasn't present in Asia's speech anymore. While his translation charm helped him interpret Italian as Japanese, it wasn't doing so anymore. Asia was actually speaking Japanese to him, meaning that either she got the charm, or the more probable option: she was turned into a Devil.

Finally, is she seriously asking to move in with me?!'

"A-Asia?! W-What are you talking about?! Y-You can't just stay in a boy's house like that?"

Asia quirked an eyebrow in confusion, nervousness fading for a moment. "Hm? Why? Everyone lived together in the orphanage, isn't that how it is everywhere?"

"N-No! We would be alone here! Actually, is Gremory-san okay with this?"

"A-Ah, Buchou told me it was fine. She encouraged me to do this!"

'Gremory, you damn…!'

"Oh, what are you cooking?"

Asia immediately made herself at home by barging into his house, leaving Issei to scramble behind her to close the door and catch up.

"W-Wait, Asia! You can't just come into my house unannounced! I don't have any rooms to keep you here!"

"Rooms?" Asia echoed. "Rias-Buchou said something about sharing your bed…?"

"Okay, now she's being evil. Sorry, Asia, but I-I can't do that just yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I – huh?"

That last line had not come from Asia. It was from deeper in the kitchen. Craning his head, Issei looked at who was there.

To his surprise, there was someone else standing there, busy whisking eggs for a tamagoyaki of all things. Her raven black hair cascaded behind her back and outlined the frilly outfit she wore. Turning around to face him for a moment, Issei noticed that the girl was dressed in a maid uniform, fully outlined with a short dark blue dress with white frills on the shoulders and the hem of the skirt. She wore simple back shoes covering white stockings that rode up her exposed thighs.

"Good Morning, Master and Mistress!" Raynare beamed at the two, shocking them both.

"R-Raynare?! What the hell are you doing here?" Issei yelled out.

"Ahaha, there's a funny story. The Devils actually held up their promise and told Azazel-sama about my situation. So, there I was, kneeling before him and Shemhazai, recounting everything that happened. Of course, I left out details of your Stand ability. Then, Azazel-sama tells me that while word got out among the Fallen of my supposed treachery, I could still be pardoned by him if I took up a position from him."

"What position?" Issei asked.

"Well, I'm now an envoy for the Fallen Angels in Kuoh!"

"… And why did you break into my house to flip eggs? And the maid uniform?"

"Because it was funny and I'm a maid by profession." There was no shame in her words. "But enough about that. Why can't Asia sleep with you? It would certainly make my job easier to wake you both up from the same bed."

"Okay, okay, stop! Raynare, I'm not having you as a live-in maid. Asia, look, I'm sorry, but I seriously don't have any place to keep you here."

"I've seen the floor plans of this house, you know?" Raynare revealed.

"You did what? How did you even find them?"

"Aren't there three bedrooms here? What are you doing with them all?"

"… I'm using one, the second is reserved for my Aniki, and the last we've reformatted into a gym."

"A gym? In your house?"

"We work out quite a bit."

"Okay… and where is your brother, then?"

"He's overseas."

"For how long?"

"I don't know, he comes back occasionally."

"Then we've found our solution, haven't we? Asia, follow me!"

"Wai-" Before Issei could stop them, Raynare grabbed the confused Asia's hand and zipped her up the stairs. Issei chased behind them, wanting to stop them before they opened the door.

"Ooh, Issei's room is more normal than I expected… that's the gym, pretty nice… so that must mean -"

"Wait, don't open that do-"

Raynare hastily opened the door to his big brother's room, revealing its contents to both her and Asia.

The room itself was sparse, containing a simple bed, dresser and mirror. But what caught their attention more was the hundreds upon hundreds of images featuring a specific girl pasted on the walls.

Issei gasped as he finally made it to the door, watching their gaping expressions with fear.

"… Issei?"

"Yeah?"

"Is your brother a stalker of some kind?"

"N-No, he just misses my sister. These are her photos. They were dating when she was alive, so he does this to remember her."

"… Incest?"

"What, no! Aniki and I aren't blood-related!"

Raynare gaped at the whole room. "Y-Yeah… this is not going to cut it. I'm not letting Asia stay in a room like this."

Asia finally spoke up. "I-I can still sleep with Iss – "

"No, you can't," Issei immediately shot her down, making Asia look down shyly.

Raynare sighed. "Don't worry, I can work on a solution. Just give me a day. In the meantime, don't you have school to get to, young man?"

"Yeah, but I need to make my lunch first."

"Here!" Raynare immediately presented a box to him. He had no idea where she pulled that out of, and to save his sanity, he called it magic.

"… You already made me a bento?"

"I made it before coming here!"

"And that egg roll you were making?"

"That's for – wait, it's still cooking!"

Raynare zipped down to the ground floor, leaving Issei and Asia behind to catch up with her. As soon as they reached the kitchen, they found her pouring the next layer of egg under the already full roll.

"As I was saying," she continued as she set the bowl down. "This is for me. My lunch. Oh, I've also got another box for Asia."

"Huh?" Issei asked. "Asia's not going to school as far as I know."

"W-Well," Asia spoke up. "Rias got me enrolled."

"… Please tell me that you didn't join my class."

"S-She told me there were openings there."

"Look, go to Shitori-kaichou and get her to change your class. Seriously, I don't think anyone will accept you in our class. You already know about us, right? About our Stands?"

"Y-Yes, I do. But can't I pretend Twilight Healing is my Stand?"

"Maybe, but those people we fought that day are in my class too. What will they say if you start speaking in Japanese with them?"

"I-I can tell them I learned from someone…"

"Yeah, there's no way they're believing you learned Japanese to this level in two days."

"R-Rias-Buchou has a way of hypnotising people, then…"

"Absolutely not. That's way riskier than I'd like, and I'm not bringing the other Devils near our class at all. Please, Asia, ask her to change your class."

"… O-Okay, I'll try."

"Thank you. Also, Raynare, I need to make bento boxes for the members of the ORC."

"A-Actually," Asia spoke up again. "Rias-Buchou told me to tell you that you don't need to make lunch for them anymore."

"Really? That's a shame. It would have been fun."

Raynare blinked at him. "Wait, you find cooking fun too?"

Issei nodded. "Yeah. It's a great way to deal with stress, really."

"I know, right?" Raynare sighed, staring at the stove before her wistfully. "Whenever Azazel-sama goes out for drinks to hit on other women, I just stir-fry my frustrations away."

"I'm more used to my frying pan."

"You should definitely try woks, then. I'll get one and show you the ropes sometime."

"… Who knows, maybe I'll try one." Issei turned to look at the clock. "Well, we've still got time. Want me to make breakfast?"

"Only if I help you," Raynare said, waving her spatula at him.

"Sure, but get rid of the maid dress."

"No. It's my uniform."

"You don't need to wear that here!"

Raynare still shook her head. "The maid uniform stays on, no matter what."

Issei sighed, finally realising that this would be his new life. That is the cost of being a hero, after all.


Jin's legs screamed at him as he ran through the white hallway. The sweat on his body pasted his clothes onto his skin and restricted his movement, but he didn't care. He didn't, no, couldn't mind the way his lungs burned in his chest for oxygen. He had to get away.

He was a simple delivery man, but he saw too much. He'd sent a rather long and heavy box to a pharmaceutical company. It was standard routine, really. Bring his truck and drop off the package to an official within the company and get the form signed off. However, there was some rather intriguing news of a roadblock on the radio, so the man had plugged an earphone while doing the job. As such, he forgot one of those key aspects.

Jin forgot to get their sign-off. However, by the time he noticed, the group of people that came with him had returned to the building.

Cursing his ignorance, he tested the door that they went through. To his delight, the door opened.

'A quick entry just to get the signature,' Jin mentally told himself. He had a rather good record so far, he did not want to break it due to a single failed signature. Resolving himself to get that signature for the sake of his girlfriend waiting back home, he entered the building.

Jin found himself in a white hallway, as expected of a supposedly sanitary pharmaceutical company. Warily pacing past the rooms, he kept an ear out for voices. Thankfully, by about the fifth room, he heard voices.

"Everyone has their masks on, yes?"

"Of course. We'll get the ability to work and we don't need to keep breathing that accursed smell."

Jin noticed a window peering into the room, so he craned his head past the wall. The first thing he took notice of was the room. It was rather clean and had only one table in the centre around which the two doctors spoke. Oddly enough, nearby there was a stand holding up an object enclosed in glass. It was some kind of brass arrow, oddly enough.

He watched the two people that took the box from him keep it on the table, being oddly outfitted in sanitary clothes and masks for such a minor task. One pulled out a knife and slit through the tape on the box. Moreover, he ran the knife through the edges of the box to wholly open it.

The box unfurled open. What lay inside was most certainly a corpse.

Jin immediately suppressed the urge to puke, knowing just what he'd delivered to them. He unbearably watched as one of the doctors pressed a finger onto the corpse's forehead.

The body opened its eyes.

Jin watched in stupefied awe as the corpse stood back up, restoring itself back into what could be seen as a normal body. However, from the way that the body nodded at the other two doctors, Jin could tell there was more going on there.

Then, the corpse froze. Why? Did something go wrong with their procedure?

Ah. The once-corpse was staring right at him.

Just as Jin turned to run away, a shutter closed by the path he came from, locking him out of his exit. Cursing, he watched as the door opened, the three people walking out presenting guns at him.

Immediately, Jin took off. He counted his lucky stars as none of the bullets managed to hit him. He kept on and on running through the never-ending white hallway, trying to find some difference in the doors for a sign of an exit of any kind.

As he ran out of energy, he thankfully found a grey fire escape door past one of the never stopping corners. Seeing a glimmer of hope, he barged through the door and clambered through the steps.

He made it to the upper level and finally escaped through the door. Taking stock of his surroundings, Jin immediately noticed that he was in the main office of the building. Moreover, there was a rather kind-looking lady nearby looking at him questioningly.

"Oh, thank god!" Jin called out. "Please, you need to help me! Someone's trying to kill me – "

With a loud bang, Jin found that no more voice could emerge from his mouth.

Or rather, what? How did he move his mouth again? He couldn't remember? Why? It was something he did every day, why couldn't he remember?

He felt something creep down the side of his nose, but in a moment even that feeling faded. The feeling in the rest of his body faded as well, as his body collapsed onto the floor and he couldn't register any pain from it.

Pain? What was pain anymore? He couldn't remember the feeling. He couldn't remember his feelings at all. He couldn't remember his body. His face.

Wasn't there someone waiting for him back home? What was their name again? He couldn't remember?

Looking up, he watched a person walk above them. They had long hair reaching their back and a kind-looking face, but they had… what was that name? The border of the thing she used to speak was turned down. What was that like?

She was holding something. A dark thing, something that made him feel like it was hard. It had a hole in its centre, and a greyish mist was coming out of it.

What was that called? A… a gun? What did a gun do again?

With another bang, a second bullet entered Jin's brain and permanently shut down the remains of his thought process.


A/N: So, my thesis is finally done. I've had a bunch of other shit to do in my personal life and thats why I took so much time. I've also got my final results back; I've graduated from University. Now, I just need to worry about a job.

So yeah, you can expect a slightly better upload schedule from now on. Anyone who's interested in my other story, Re:Teyvat, will be sad to hear that I'm having a bit of writer's block on it. I will try and get through it, though.

This chapter was mainly a conclusion to the previous arc. With this, you can now see the new dynamic that the characters have with each other. I know that some of you didn't want Asia to turn into a devil but in the end, I thought it was best for the Gremory Peerage to have her in their ranks. Also, I kinda want to see Issei having a stable team with a member of every race and Asia fits the bill for the Devils. If you don't like it, then just drop my story.

Also, I may have expended my M-rating rights with that last section there. For those who are confused, this Jin guy is just a random deliveryman who saw the essence of what the next arc will be about. The weird bit where he forgot everything about himself was because of a bullet in his head and the resultant malfunctioning of his brain. I don't know if that's how it actually works, though, I've never been shot in the head before. If you've been shot in the head, let me know what it feels like. Also tell me just how you're messaging me because you are certainly a ghost of some kind. In fact, tell me what that's like too.

If it wasn't obvious, the next arc will be purely original. Adept readers will note the existence of a brass arrow in the room where the box was opened. That is exactly what you think it is. The next arc will be wholly focused on Class 2-E and Stands. I'm saying this right now because it's pretty clear that introducing an original arc means that I will be making it for the World I haven't talked about enough in this story yet.

Raynare being a maid might turn some heads. Yes, I have a bit of a maid fetish. No, I will not put Raynare in Issei's harem regardless. She's just way too old for him and he's too traumatized by her (don't think I'd forget Yuuma) and they've got way too much bad blood. They're better off as partners. Also, more adept readers would have noticed that I mentioned the maid thing earlier. I just never made a huge point out of it because it was such a meager thing to note at that point in time.

Finally, let me know if you think Asia will be better off in 2-E or in another class. I mainly wanted to keep her in another class because of the language problems with Daichi and Azumi as I'd mentioned. This won't be a vote, though, just let me know what you think. Also, I will be focusing on 2-E for the next few chapters as well.

One more thing to note, I don't have a stable handle on Raynare's character outside of her violent tendencies, so forgive me if you don't really like her. I'll be thinking about how I can form her character a little more.

So, here are the review responses.


Firetrail: Yeah, Sona could do that, but she'd definitely know that trying to get a person that can't turn into a Devil into her Peerage is a fool's errand. Also, she has Saji and Ruruko already. I don't really know when Ruruko joined the Peerage, but from what I've seen in the Wiki, she was her Pawn before Saji joined. For other pieces, I still go back to my first point. But yeah, you do present a fair point in her trying to approach him to be in his good graces at the very least. I'll think about that some more. Thanks for the advice!


GoldStar77: It will be difficult, I can tell you that. Both worlds can clash pretty badly against each other.


brakamonoga: Filler? Oh no, definitely not. You're getting a whole arc with 2-E.


Fire: No, I don't plan to give Issei Hamon or Spin anytime soon. Maybe once the MCBA cast is fully integrated and I can reintroduce Chaos Drive? Even then, I don't see Issei using it, maybe I'll give it to someone else instead.


Look forward to the brand new original arc next chapter, as well as a bit of a surprise! I'll see you next chapter.